Social Intercourse
by Fictatious
Summary: Smut! Ryou wakes up the morning after his yami and Malik spent the night together, but it isn't Malik he wakes up with. Philosophy and the question of what is consent ensues.
1. Chapter 1

Ryou woke with a weight on his chest. It reminded him of when his grandmother's cat would sleep on top of him. But it wasn't the New Year's holidays, so he wasn't at his grandmother's house. He blinked blearily up at the ceiling; sleep was being slow in draining away this morning, like he'd slept particularly deeply. He couldn't remember being especially tired last night though...

Actually he couldn't remember anything from last night.

The last thing he remembered doing was putting away his text books after finishing his homework in early evening. Well, at least the Thief was respecting his study schedule. Ryou sighed and it reminded him of the weight on his diaphragm. He lifted his head a few inches and looked. There was not a charcoal-gray cat laying on his chest, but a head of mid-length blond hair and a deeply tanned arm.

Ryou groaned and dropped his head again. Well, now he knew why he felt sluggish.

He glanced sideways at his alarm-clock. It had been turned off. That's right, it was Saturday. Well, there was another thing to be thankful for. He sighed again, letting his eyes drift shut. He must have dozed off, because he started slightly when the body draped over and against him stirred. Ryou bit the inside of his lip, more irritated than dreadful of the scene that was about to ensue, it had been unbelievably awkward the first few times, but by now it was almost routine.

He felt the head lift and then heard a soft groan that sounded somewhere between annoyed and resigned.

"_Again_, Malik...?"

That was not been the voice Ryou had been expecting to hear. His eyes snapped open and he lay absolutely still. He watched silently as the other half of Malik Ishtar pushed himself up sleepily. The shadow sat there for a moment, leaned forward with part of his weight supported on his arms, and yawned. After a few moments, his head lifted and turned toward Ryou.

Ryou's eyes widened and he inhaled sharply, only then realizing that he'd been holding his breath.

"Oh..." the shadow said raising an eyebrow. "Hello there."

Ryou just stared, his heart and lungs picking up a panicked pace.

"Bakura Ryou, isn't it?" the shadow asked, his lips pulling into an amused grin.

Ryou nodded silently.

The shadow chuckled, tilting his head. "Well aren't you a cute, little bunny," he said, turning his body and moving closer to Ryou. He lifted a hand and brushed the back of his fingers against Ryou's forehead, before trailing them slowly down the side of his face. "That face is so much prettier without a scowl on it," he mused, moving in towards Ryou's nose and then trailing the pads of his index and middle fingers slowly out over Ryou's cheek and down around the curve of his jaw.

Ryou stared up at the amused, fascinated expression on the shadow's face and felt cold with fear. Malik's _light_ side was on a level of morality with _Ryou's_ shadow. His dark side... Ryou's schoolmates had related to him the psychotic brutality and murderous intent of this sadistic creature that was said to be barely recognizable as human.

The shadow's fingers brushed over Ryou's lips, pulling his bottom lip down with the friction of his fingertips. There was a pause, then the shadow's fingers pushed between Ryou's slightly parted lips. A surge of outrage momentarily suppressed the fear and Ryou jerked his head to the side, clamping his teeth shut.

The shadow laughed again, louder than before. "Ah, so you're not a doormat then," he said, grinning and retracting his hand, which he proceeded to rest firmly on Ryou's thigh, so far up that his thumb rested over Ryou's pelvis. "Good... I like that," he said in a low voice, leaning down a bit closer.

"What, do you want me to fight back or something? Make it more interesting?" Ryou whispered, regretting the words before he even said them, but unable to stop himself.

The shadow's eyebrows lifted a little and his smile widened. "Well, found your voice, did you?" he asked. "And so _articulate_. Fully expressing defiance without the bitching and the tantrums... So much more effective and respectable."

"Implying there are people you respect?" Ryou asked.

"A person in total is rarely respectable," the shadow chuckled, using the hand that wasn't occupying Ryou's thigh to brush at his hair. "But individual personality traits worthy of respect? Much easier to find."

"I see."

"And the fact that you're not a whiney, little bitch? Quite respectable from my point of reference," the shadow explained, shifting, moving the hand off of Ryou's thigh and trailing it slowly up and across his chest. This action had apparently been for the purpose shifting his position again, putting his elbow down on the far side of Ryou's chest so that he could lean down over him.

"All I know about you is a list of your victims and would-bes," Ryou said quietly. "The list of successes seems quite short for the psychotic killer you're described as, indicating that either your murderous intent has been overstated or that you're not very good at it."

"That sounds a bit like a dare," the shadow noted, his smile unfaltering.

"Just an observation," Ryou replied without blinking. "I'm still trying to guess what you intend to do now. The blatantly sexual tone you've taken suggests that rape is on the menu. You're not giving much indication of an intent to kill me, but then, I don't know your mannerisms well enough to decide that, so I'm left wondering just how much you plan to take from me today."

The shadow was silent for more than a minute, just studying Ryou and smiling. He traced lines on Ryou's chest with his index finger. "Incidentally, what tone _should_ I take when I wake up in bed with somebody who I apparently had a _very_ busy night with?" he asked.

"I wasn't there," Ryou asserted quietly. "And I rather doubt you were. He doesn't seem to like you very much."

"Hnn." The shadow smirked. "The feeling is mutual," he said and then shifted a little bit, frowning and sighing. "And he is rather rough to this body, although, I'm sure Malik encourages it."

Ryou's eyes flicked to a series of crescent-shaped bruises on the shadow's -Malik's- neck and shoulder. There was also a fainter, less noticeable ring around the wrist of the hand he was petting Ryou with. Ryou was willing to bet there would be a matching mark on the other wrist, most likely from a silk rope or padded hand-cuffs.

Ryou's own body didn't have any particular damage; he was thankful that Malik seemed to be the sub in their sadomasochism games. "So why don't you enlighten me," he asked, leveling his eyes with the shadow's. "Are you going to give it back bruise for bruise? Or do you plan to be more creative, using me for your canvas?"

The shadow laughed. "Are you afraid of me, bunny?" he asked in a whisper. "Afraid that I'm going to tear you apart, just because I can?"

"Can you?" Ryou asked. "I don't think you outweigh me, not by much at least. But I've noticed that Thief seems to be physically stronger than me. Is that part of the magic that ties you to us? Or a side-effect of your nature?"

"A little of column A, a little of column B," the shadow said with a shrug, stroking Ryou's chest slowly. "And the question of whether I _can_ do any little thing that strikes my fancy to you? I assure you, bunny, I can."

"Could you if it were him?" Ryou asked, tilting his head to the side slightly, keeping his tone curious rather than challenging. "From experience, I would say that he always tunes in very quickly when I'm in physical pain."

"Really?" the shadow asked, his smirk spreading a little wider as his fingers continued to gently pet Ryou's chest. In a sudden flash of motion, the shadow's arm whipped out to the side and a line of burning ran across the back of Ryou's neck. He turned his head just in time to see the Millennium Ring slam into the wall before falling to the floor.

He stared blankly at the space on the wall where the Ring had impacted for a while. When had the shadow cut the cord? How had he- with what? Slowly, he turned his face back towards the shadow hovering above him. "So I suppose that's your answer? Of what you plan to do to me?" he whispered.

The shadow shrugged again. "Maybe I just don't want to run the risk of having to listen to that gutter trash flattering himself," he suggested. "Whatever I decide to do with you, I don't much care to be interrupted."

"So you still haven't decided."

"Hnn." He stroked his hand through Ryou's hair, brushing against his ear and his neck. "What to do with a pretty bunny and no interruptions..." he mused. "You know, I do find myself rather enjoying our conversation." He caressed Ryou's neck and cupped his jaw. "I do so rarely have the opportunity to engage such a charming boy in _social intercourse_."

"I suppose not," Ryou said. "Most people seem to be rather terrified of you. And Malik's personality doesn't lend itself well to attracting much friendly company."

The shadow laughed. "So true!" he agreed. "And as for my own reputation, I must point out that my actions have always been purely in the interest of self-preservation." He sighed, his smile looking more thoughtful and less anticipatory as he smoothed his hand against Ryou's collarbone. "Is it so evil to cling to one's existence? I struck at the persons who have spent the last six years attempting to destroy me."

"In and of itself, it couldn't be considered evil unless one was to consider all living things evil." Ryou looked evenly back into the shadow's eyes and spoke without hesitation, in a tone with which one might deliver a paper. "At the heart of natural-selection is the idea of one organism using any advantage it has to live while others of its species die. The stronger will always prevail over the weaker in a natural environment."

"And supposing, for the sake of argument, that I am stronger than Malik? Why did I lose that battle?" the shadow asked, shifting his weight again, moving to balance more of his body over Ryou's.

"You lost your bid to replace Malik because others were helping him," Ryou replied easily, carefully giving the shadow's movement no acknowledgement. "Cooperation within a community of organisms does have its place in natural-selection as well, but the problem with your particular situation is that Malik was not part of a community with the Pharaoh," he continued. "The Pharaoh helped him because of a very _human_ characteristic. He made a value judgment, and he judged your life to be worth less than Malik's."

The shadow smiled deeply, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "And you, little bunny?" he whispered, positioning his thigh between Ryou's and pressing against his groin. "What is your value judgment, hmm?"

Ryou's breath hitched and he clenched his teeth briefly before forcing his jaw to relax and answering. "I prefer to avoid making judgments before I know the facts on which I should be basing them."

The shadow's grin pulled wide and his teeth showed. "So wise, so young, bunny!" he praised, easing his thigh back and then pressing in again. "So tell me, what makes a boy like you so contemplative?"

"_Ng!_" Ryou dug his fingers into the sheets and clenched his teeth again. "Having my life- _ngh_- ripped out- uhh-of my c-control," he bit out as the shadow continued to grind against him with an air of leisure.

"Ahh," the shadow whispered, his face inches from Ryou's. "What a marvelous thing it must have been, to at some point in time _had_ control of your fate, or even an illusion of it..." The shadow leaned down, cupping the side of Ryou's jaw in his hand again as he slowly licked around the curve of the opposite mandible.

Ryou focused a great deal of attention on not making any vocalization that might have sounded appreciative, though he couldn't stop himself from panting. This didn't feel much like he would have imagined a prelude to rape. The gentleness of the teeth and lips teasing at the sensitive skin below his ear seemed to very much dispute the violent image he'd been given of this being. "Ec-explain?" he panted, his body swaying involuntarily with the slow rhythm the shadow had established.

The shadow kissed slowly up Ryou's jaw and brought their lips together, sighing softly as he pressed his tongue into Ryou's mouth and explored it with great care. When he pulled back, he did so only by the breadth of a hair and when he spoke his lips brushed repeatedly against Ryou's. "I have spent three thousand years as the tool of men long since dead and buried." His damp breath rolled along Ryou's skin, over his chin and against the base of his nose. "_Conscious_, unlike the Pharaoh or your little friend... My sole purpose in unlife has been to serve as a living ledger."

"How are you- huh-hhhh- connected?" Ryou mumbled, fighting with himself not to squirm. "There's no- _mn!_- Millennium Ite-_ah!_"

"I _am_ the item," the shadow hissed. His hand abandoned Ryou's jaw and moved down to find his wrist. Ryou let go of the bed sheets as his hand was guided to the shadow's back and pressed against the scarred lines of hieroglyphics there. "Renewed every fifteen or twenty years... over and over, as I travel through the ages and through the blood of my descendants..."

Ryou moved his hand slowly over the shadow's back, feeling the variation in the texture of the scars and the unmarred flesh between. The shadow went back to work behind Ryou's jaw, moving slowly down the line of his neck and then up again to nibble on his ear. What the shadow seemed to be telling him was that his essence was carried within the shape of the words and symbols themselves, tied to the meaning rather than a single, physical object like the Thief or the Pharaoh.

"H-how did- _ahhhaaah!_" Ryou tilted his head back and his spine arched as the shadow slid a hand under him, squeezing Ryou's buttock and shifting his hips slightly to put more pressure against his crotch.

"Mmhmhm," the shadow chuckled, nuzzling behind Ryou's ear. "Do you want to have story-time, bunny?" he asked.

"Y-yes," Ryou whispered quickly and closed his mouth before another involuntary sound could be pulled from it.

The shadow pulled his head back and found Ryou's mouth again, pressing a deep, lingering kiss on him. He started to pull away but then seemed to be drawn back for a fraction of a second, to place a quick, follow-up kiss to Ryou's lips before speaking. "All right, bunny," he breathed, sounding indulgent. "Just because you're so _very_ attentive."

He propped himself back up on his left elbow and hovered over Ryou, looking straight down into his eyes. "Do you know much about how magic was worked in those days?" the shadow asked, tilting his head just slightly. "Do you know what a medium is?"

He wasn't grinding as insistently and Ryou dared opening his mouth to speak, managing to do so without any unintentional vocalizations, though he was still breathing very heavily. "Mediums talk to the dead," he panted. "The old folk beliefs in Japan had mediums, priestesses who channeled spirits through themselves to speak to the living."

"Hm." The shadow looked thoughtful. "Women? They wouldn't use females for something like that in the old country. Their nature as life-givers makes them more open to attack by spirit forces. They were protected from such things for the sake of their health and any children they might bear."

"Japanese priestesses aren't married," Ryou explained, his voice uneven.

"Interesting," the shadow said with a nod. "In the old country, mediums were made from boys, ones just on the brink of puberty. You see, it's the age when the soul is the most malleable and versatile." The shadow's eyes wandered from Ryou's to watch his own fingers lightly caressing the curve of Ryou's shoulder. "A boy between ten and twelve years would be transformed, by the clergy, into a human nexus between the world of the living and that of the dead.

"My father was a low level priest in the primary temple of the Living Horus three thousand years ago, a man of little particular importance, but he had a son just the right age, and he proudly sold his child into eternal servitude to the Pharaoh and the Gods." The words seemed contemptuous, but there was no hint of that in the shadow's voice, just a calm, conversational tone. It seemed just a bland stating of the facts, for which he had no particular interest. "He gained rank among his peers for his sacrifice... and I became a creature which belongs to neither this world nor the hereafter.

"Not long after becoming a tool of the priests, I was presented with a wife, and when I was fourteen years of age, my eldest son was born." His eyes had returned to Ryou's and there wasn't any hint of resentment there. "Ten years passed and I was groomed and transformed into a high ranking priest within the Pharaoh's temple. When my son reached his tenth birthday, he was taken, as I had been, and prepared to become a medium.

"It was my task to initiate him through the ceremony that I had undergone at his age, wherein his body itself became the vehicle of the spell." The shadow sighed softly, and finally a touch of emotion crept onto his features. "It came as a shock to everyone, at that time, that as I connected the last, bloody line, completing and binding the heka into my son's body, my own heart stopped."

The shadow paused for a while, brushed his fingers through the hair just above Ryou's temple, his gaze following the action. When he started speaking again, his voice was just a little softer than it had been. "I think it was a terrible shock to my son. He felt great personal guilt for my death, despite the ceremony having been forced upon him," he said slowly, the flicker of a frown crossing his brow. "It took over three years before I regained myself enough to speak to him.

"From then, for the next twelve years, I guided and advised him and he grew into a more competent priest than any around him." A soft look, that seemed completely out of place on the shadow, crossed his features. "I loved him dearly, we were closer than any teacher and student, parent and child or husband and wife could ever be. And then, when his heir turned ten and was inducted, my son found that he was suddenly alone within himself for the first time in many years."

His eyes came back to Ryou again and he smiled, not as soft as his previous expression, but still much softer than his smirks from before. "It took me only six days to sort myself out that time, and I spoke to my son again through the lips of my grandson, and I was happy again for a time..." He glanced away, eyes distant and unfocused, and his smile became wistful. "I existed within the body of my great-grandson when at last my beloved son died, peacefully and in his old age," he said, his voice becoming quieter.

"I continued that way, passing from heir to heir within my family for generation after generation, traveling by knife-point," the shadow continued, his voice again becoming conversational. "I taught them, I guided them, I loved them..." Now his expression shifted, the corners of his mouth didn't turn down especially far and his brow didn't tighten particularly much, but something in his face became bitter and contemptuous. "But every time it got a little harder, every time they became a little more despicable, until eventually, I found myself hating them."

The shadow wasn't looking into Ryou's eyes now, he was gazing, almost glaring, at a point thousands of years beyond Ryou's ear. "I stopped teaching them. I stopped talking to them. I stopped even making them aware of my presence. In time they forgot me, and though it's what I wanted, I despised them all the more for it," he spat, then he turned his attention back to Ryou. "Do you really think Malik's father is the first one I killed? He was a particular blight to me, but he certainly wasn't unique." He snorted, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "I was trapped within that impotent wretch's decaying body for more than thirty years waiting for an heir. It was a relief to be rid of him, so much so that I almost found myself _fond_ of Malik for a time." He let out a bitter, one-note laugh and then his lips formed a sneer. "I enjoyed killing that man."

There was quiet for a few moments and Ryou turned the story over slowly in his mind a few times, before addressing the shadow again. "Which made you bitter? Existing for so long without a body or life of your own, or watching generation after generation of your children die?"

The shadow looked down at him, his face blank for a few seconds before breaking into a smile as he dropped upon Ryou and nuzzled him. "Such a clever, _thoughtful_ boy you are, Bakura Ryou!" he praised, tickling a hand gently up Ryou's side and then down again. "How I wish my descendants could have been more like you," he sighed and kissed the underside of Ryou's jaw.

"Somehow, I find the thought of you treating one of your own descendants like you're doing with me now rather disturbing," Ryou noted, rolling his eyes.

The shadow laughed at the comment. "Did you like the story?" he asked in a playful voice and licked Ryou's ear lobe. "It's customary to pay the story-teller, you know."

"I don't know it," Ryou replied. "I doubt anybody from the modern world knows that custom. There aren't story-tellers anymore."

"What a _pity_ that is," the shadow sighed dramatically. "But if you're short on coins, I'll gladly accept just the pleasure of your company," he said, grinning against Ryou's neck and stroking his thigh, before pushing himself up a bit to seek out Ryou's mouth again. He sighed into the kiss and ground his thigh against Ryou again, eliciting a strangled hiccup noise in the back of Ryou's throat.

It was getting harder and harder to hold back unwanted sounds, and Ryou was just getting harder. There was sweat dampening his skin and his breath was getting too labored. Ryou had to open his mouth to pant, no longer able to suck in enough oxygen through his nose. That was his downfall. Moments after opening his mouth, he was groaning throatily. The shadow purred against his neck.

"Mm? Is that right, bunny? Tell me more," the shadow chuckled, nipping and then sucking at Ryou's neck. The shadow's thumb was moving over Ryou's nipple, brushing lightly across and then pressing and rolling a circle. Ryou's back arched against his will, pressing his chest up into the shadow's, and three short, breathless moans escaped him. "Such an _excellent_ conversationalist, bunny!" the shadow murmured against his skin.

The shadow shifted their legs again, getting his hips between Ryou's thighs and grinding their erections together. Ryou had gotten beyond worrying about his pride and keened loudly, twisting his hands in the sheets and pressing wantonly against the shadow. His eyelids drooped and he watched the shadow moving above him through half-shaded eyes.

After a few agonizing minutes, the shadow moved his arms, wrapping them around Ryou's waist and behind his shoulders, and suddenly Ryou was being pulled up off the bed. One breath in the tempo of his panting turned into a startled gasp as he was relocated, and now found himself straddling the shadow's lap. Ryou glanced around in confusion, unsure of the new position. This was all definitely erotic, and it was _definitely_ getting him off, but it was failing to progress by the familiar script of a porno and Ryou was getting lost.

He'd seen anal-sex from this position in pornos, but that didn't really seem to be the shadow's plan here. The shadow's arms circled around Ryou's waist and pulled him in closer, bringing their bodies together as the shadow spread his legs, dropping Ryou lower in his lap. One hand slid down around Ryou's buttock and squeezed as the shadow kissed his neck and whispered, "Come on, bunny, _move_."

That was the plan; he wanted to put Ryou in control of the motion, the friction between their bodies, to change what was happening from molestation to consensual frottage. Forcing Ryou into not being forced. Ryou snorted, turning his head a bit and glaring off into space. "I'm not that easy to manipulate."

The shadow shivered, making an odd vocalization that sounded both frustrated and delighted. "In all your clever little comments, you haven't once asked me to stop," he breathed against Ryou's jaw.

"I also never said you could start," Ryou countered, keeping his teeth pressed together as he strained not to do exactly what the shadow wanted.

"You're so _hard_, bunny," the shadow whispered.

"You've been fondling me for half an hour," Ryou gritted.

"You didn't try to cut our conversation short." The shadow was trembling slightly, apparently making a great effort not to push Ryou down and finish him off. "You asked questions..."

"Maybe I was hoping to stall until Malik woke up," Ryou retorted.

"... Bunny, _please_..." the shadow whined, more than a hint of desperation creeping into his voice as his arms tightened around Ryou.

"Just _take_ what you want," Ryou hissed.

"... I _can't_," now it sounded like the shadow was speaking through clenched teeth.

Ryou's breath started coming a bit quicker. Why was it starting to feel like the cards were in his hand now? "Sure you can," he said. "You've got me at your mercy, haven't you? What could I do to stop you? You've put Thief out of my reach and I haven't got any other weapon."

_clink_

Clink?

The shadow made a sound that was just frustration now, no delight. "I think I'm the one at your mercy now, bunny," he nearly whimpered. "If I _took_ it, I wouldn't get what I _want_."

"Is that right?" Ryou felt an odd thrill running through him. "What is it that you want?"

"_You!_" the shadow whined against Ryou's neck. "_You! _I want_ you!_"

_ca-clink_

What was that?

"So what's the problem?" Ryou whispered. "You could easily take me right now."

"N-no, I could take your _body_," the shadow corrected. His voice sounded truly desperate now. "I want your mind, your _soul_."

Ryou's breath hitched; why were the shadow's words so _elating?_ Because this was officially Ryou's game now? A loud rattling suddenly started up from the floor, metal clinking loosely against metal and thumping on the wooden floor. Oh, that's what that was. A very pissed-off Millennium Ring. A new spark of anger flickered to life within Ryou; what was _he_ complaining about? So _he_ was allowed to do whatever he wanted with Ryou's body but god-forbid Ryou ever get off for himself?

The muscles in Ryou's legs tightened, he lifted his body just a little way and then dropped again, sliding against the shadow clinging to him. The shadow made a relieved, thrilled sound and the Millennium Ring kept rattling angrily from the floor. Ryou quickly picked up a rhythm, rocking up and down in the shadow's lap, rubbing their erections together as the shadow bit and kissed and licked at his neck and shoulder, mumbling little praises.

Ryou noticed belatedly that at some point he must have put his arms around the shadow's neck to improve his leverage. It was dangerously close to an embrace, but Ryou couldn't seem to care enough to drop his arms back down to his sides. The pounding of his heart and the shameful little noises he was making as he rubbed brazenly against the shadow were drowning out the Millennium Ring's clatter now. The pace was getting faster and Ryou was starting to get frustrated with the position, it was too awkward, he wasn't getting enough contact. As if reading his thoughts, the shadow suddenly pushed Ryou onto his back again and shifted their erections next to each other down their full length.

Ryou moaned throatily, pressing his head back into the pillow and digging his fingers into the shadow's back. Before he could make another gratuitous utterance, the shadow's mouth was covering his, their tongues were rolling over each other's and Ryou moved a hand to grab at the shadow's hair, as though to hold him there. The shadow made desperate mewling sounds, the breath escaping through his nose because Ryou wouldn't relinquish his mouth, and ground against him frantically.

Ryou yanked on the shadow's hair hard and screamed at the top of his lungs when he peaked. He couldn't tell if the shadow's strangled wail was because of the hair-pulling or simply his own completion. Previously taut muscles lost interest in holding the shadow up and he collapsed against Ryou, panting. Before either of them had got their breath back, the shadow was kissing him again, pressing deep into Ryou's mouth, his full weight still resting on Ryou.

Ryou pushed him away after a while to let himself pant unencumbered, and the shadow moved his assault to Ryou's jaw, ear and neck. Ryou's primary thought, when the thick haze began to clear from his mind, was irritation at the discovery that he was apparently a screamer.

He watched the ceiling blankly as his breathing slowly normalized, listening to the angry rattling of the Millennium Ring and the muffled little murmurs from the shadow. The post-coital bliss fought against aggravation that Ryou had let himself get swept up in that scene, but his annoyance found an excellent target in the shadow whom was lavishing affection on his throat. He let out something between a sigh and a snort before complaining, "I'm hungry."

"Mm?" the shadow mumbled, lifting his head to meet Ryou's eyes; his own were still hazy with lust.

"I'm _hungry_," Ryou repeated and gave the shadow's shoulder a shove. "Get off."

The shadow obediently crawled off of Ryou, letting him sit up and grimace at the semen sliding down his stomach. He grabbed a corner of the sheet and wiped the mess up with that; they had to be washed anyway. "You like things clean, don't you, bunny?" the shadow observed; he was wearing an amused little smile when Ryou glanced at him.

"Whatever," Ryou snorted and pushed himself off the bed. He walked for the door, grabbing his bathrobe off the chair at the desk as he went and continuing to ignore the Millennium Ring's insistent rattling. He paused in the doorway as he stuck his arms through the sleeves, and tossed back over his shoulder, "I'm not making anything special. Rice and a fried egg. If you want something better, go home."

There was a quiet pause as Ryou tied the robe and started down the hall, then from behind him came a quiet, "That sounds perfect, bunny."

...

...

So you haven't heard from me in a couple weeks. I've been writing little pieces of disconnected things that aren't anywhere near ready to be posted, and I've been practicing writing smut. Here's an example! I've also worked on FE, I've got one scene finished that I'm happy with for chapter seven, and then I'm kind of not sure what I'm doing from there... I mean, I have a destination, but I'm not sure how I want to get there.

But anyway, here, have some 'deathship' (why is it called that?) I'm calling this a one-shot for now, but I'm kind of debating whether I want to expand it a little, and use it as basically writing-practice for smut. I'm finally at the point where I seem to be getting comfortable at writing sex-scenes and also they're coming to me a lot easier now, which is delightful. So, if I did poke this around some more, I don't anticipate giving it epic plot or anything. I don't know, FE is being such a bitch to work on that I keep wanting to wander off and write less plot-intensive vignettes.

Review/comment!


	2. Chapter 2

Ryou opened up the freezer and pulled out two cup-sized containers of cooked rice, stored for occasions when he forgot to set up the rice-cooker or he got home famished and couldn't wait the time necessary to make fresh rice properly. He dropped them into bowls and stuck the silicone microwave-lid onto one of them before pushing it into the appliance and hitting 'defrost'. It was inelegant, but Ryou was hungry and irritated and had no interest in doing a better job.

He was cracking eggs into his large skillet when the shadow immerged from Ryou's bedroom, now dressed in jeans but no shirt. Ryou cast him a slightly scathing look, though, dressed in a bathrobe, he wasn't exactly the arbiter of proper dress-codes at the moment. The shadow returned an impish grin and swaggered over to sit on one of the stools by the kitchen island. "You're prettier in proper light," he commented, leaning against the counter.

Ryou scowled and watched the eggs slowly firming up in the pan.

"You're upset," the shadow sighed, sounding dejected.

"Oh really?" Ryou glowered at the eggs. "Thanks for pointing that out to me."

"Why so terse suddenly?" the shadow asked. "You were so thoroughly charming earlier, and it seems hard to believe that physical release would put you out so badly."

"Physical release?" Ryou scoffed. "More like loss of control. I let you manipulate me. Of course I'm annoyed."

"Manipulate?" the shadow sounded slightly offended but also amused. "Do you think I was being delusive? Didn't you like the story after all?"

Ryou groaned and flipped the eggs over with a spatula. "Whatever. I don't even care."

"Aw..." the shadow pouted. "I care. I think you're lovely and I should very much like to know you better."

"Oh please," Ryou snorted. "You had your fun, you got what you wanted, now would you please stop bothering me?"

"Bothering..." the shadow sighed and leaned his cheek down against his arm. "You know, until Malik came along, it had been several centuries since I'd interacted with another person on any relevant level," he said quietly. "And before that, any social function was always in the interest of maintaining the Tomb Keeper lineage... Perhaps it's just a fascination for this brave new world of yours, but I find myself wishing to experience a romance before I finally die."

Ryou turned off the gas and checked on the rice in the microwave. He put both bowls in together and set them to heat for another minute, before pouring hot water over teabags and setting a cup in front of the shadow. "And what a convenient target I would make for your experiments in affection," Ryou noted, scooping the eggs onto plates and handing one to the shadow as well, before the microwave called for attention, announcing that the rice was hot.

"You are quite convenient," the shadow agreed with a nod, "since we find ourselves in close proximity so often, thanks to our counterparts." He plucked at the string on his teabag, bouncing it gently. "But convenience isn't a great priority to me. I think I should find it far more enjoyable to _inconvenience_ Malik a bit more. But I do believe you have managed to win me over, bunny. You are just so very..." the shadow paused, seeming to have difficulty finding a word, "_infatuating_."

Ryou snorted again and leaned against the counter as he carved apart and ate his egg with a fork. "Am I not allowed to have _one_ normal thing in my life? Not ever?" he grumbled and shoved a jiggling piece of egg into his mouth.

"Normal..." the shadow leaned on an elbow and took a thoughtful sip of his tea. "Your circumstance is so very abnormal, do you really think you'd be comfortable inflicting it on a _normal _person?" he asked, giving Ryou a curious look. "If you were to have a _normal_ lover, how do you think they would feel about your 'tenant'? I frankly don't see a _normal_ relationship as being a possibility for you because, even if it were to be with a _normal_ person, there would surely be issues of jealousy and so much more that would complicate the courtship and lead to its inevitable demise."

Ryou glared at the shadow and slowly chewed a mouthful of rice longer than necessary before swallowing it and responding. "So basically, what you're saying is that you're the best I could hope for?" he said in a low, dangerous voice.

"All I'm saying is that you should consider the possibility," the shadow replied with a shrug. "I merely point out that there is a high potential for compatibility formed simply by the fact that we are able to understand each other's situations." He nibbled at his egg and then cast a small smirk at Ryou. "Although I'm not saying that is the only compatibility I see."

Ryou snorted. "Well if my romantic options are limited to magically sentient shadows, I rather think I'd prefer _Yuugi's_," he said curtly. The shadow across the counter raised an eyebrow in the sort of way that said 'you're _joking_, right?' Ryou looked away and snorted again, "_Whatever_."

The shadow chuckled and took another bite of his egg.

Ryou finished his rice and glared down at the bowl. "You are just another thing to remind me of the great unfairness of my life," he said quietly.

"The number of persons who have lived lives as or more unfair than yours is immeasurable," the shadow replied easily. "Even now, despite your extra baggage, you are still being allowed to live your life with a great deal of freedom. Your shadow seems to only take from you small hours of your life, these days. Perhaps no more than the practice of a sport or art would cost you." The shadow finished his egg and rice and sat sipping his tea. "Does it really seem so terribly unfair of him to take ten or fifteen hours out of your week, for the only time he himself has any opportunity to live?"

Ryou glared at the wall, curling his hands around his teacup and soaking in the uncomfortable heat. "He already lived. Three thousand years ago," Ryou said quietly.

"Yes, of course," the shadow sounded cruelly amused. "And we all know what a very _fair_ life he had back then."

"Shut up," Ryou growled. "Having one's own rights violated isn't an excuse to violate someone else's."

The shadow chuckled. "You certainly are a cold bitch, aren't you?"

Ryou turned his glare back on the shadow. "Shut up," Ryou repeated. "You're a murderer- _he's_ a murderer, and you're calling _me_ cold? I've never even _tried_ to hurt anyone."

"Of course not," the shadow said quietly, smirking lazily at him. "What reason would you have? But do you honestly think that if you had been put in the same position as him, you would still be so soft and innocent as you are?"

Ryou glared away at the wall again.

"It is so very easy to judge, isn't it?" the shadow whispered.

"None of this is even relevant," Ryou said after a long pause, irritation at feelings of nebulous guilt adding to the general irritation of his morning. "It's got nothing to do with you, what happens between me and him."

"I apologize," the shadow said calmly, setting down his empty teacup. "You're right, that doesn't concern me. What I find most concerning now is what happens between you and _me_." He smirked and cast Ryou an upwards glance through his long eyelashes.

Ryou felt his face heat up and turned his head away again. "You really ought to go home," he said, fidgeting nervously.

"Why?" the shadow asked in a lilting tone. "Did you have important plans for today?"

"It's none of your business," Ryou snapped.

"Why are you hiding behind the counter, bunny?"

"I'm not hiding," Ryou bristled.

"You ate your breakfast standing up, is that normal for you?" The shadow balanced his chin on laced fingers and grinned at Ryou. "Or did you just want to keep a solid object between us?"

Ryou snorted and looked away, which made the shadow laugh. "Now the more interesting question is whether the counter is to stop me, or to stop _you_," the shadow's voice dropped into a lascivious murmur. "I wonder, are you afraid of 'losing control' again?"

"This is _stupid!_" Ryou snapped, grabbing the plate and cup from in front of the shadow and dropping them into the sink along with his own breakfast dishes. "Go _home_. I'm tired of you."

"In all honesty, I rather would prefer to avoid 'home,'" the shadow said with a shrug. "They don't really care for me much there. Something about possessing their darling baby brother."

"_Whatever!_" Ryou threw back. "I don't care _where_ you go, just _leave!_" The shadow didn't move; he just stayed where he was sitting, his chin still supported by his hands, and gazed at Ryou with a little smirk. Ryou glared and then threw his hands up. "_God!_"

The shadow probably just wanted to wind him up further. It was like his parents had always told him as a child, just ignore bullies. So Ryou set to work ignoring the shadow perched at his counter. He washed the dishes from breakfast and set them in the drying wrack, and then he stormed out of the kitchen and down the hall, ignoring the shadow all the while. He pulled the bathroom door closed with a slam and then let out a frustrated little roar and stamped his foot.

Ryou leaned against the door for a few seconds, taking deep breaths, closing his eyes and calming himself. His unwelcome _guest_ had put him too out of sorts and he needed to just relax and get on with his usual routines. Ryou sighed and pushed himself away from the door, meditating on the feeling of cool tile under his feet and the quiet around him. After managing a little serenity, Ryou opened his eyes again and shucked off his robe to hang on the hook behind the door.

Showers had always made him feel better, no matter what the ailment. The heat and the steam soothed away headaches and relaxed muscles, and the water gently washed away sweat and filth. And this morning he was particularly sweaty and filthy. He didn't bother to put his hair up, wet hair was a price he was willing to pay for the feeling of water flowing freely over his scalp and every inch of skin.

Ryou put the showerhead up into the overhead holder and then stepped under the flow once it had warmed up. He sighed deeply, tension easing away as the droplets joined together and trickled down his face and body. He closed his eyes and pressed a hand against the wall to lean on, letting the heat slowly soak into him.

Minutes passed listening to the water singing in the pipes and pattering against his body and the tile. Ryou was just starting to contemplate whether or not he wanted to shampoo his hair today, when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He jerked around suddenly and his foot slipped against the wet floor, sending him plummeting downwards only to be caught in strong, bare arms and be left staring up at his assailant and rescuer.

The shadow pulled Ryou back to his feet even as he captured Ryou's waist with an arm. "W-what the _hell_ do you think you're _doing?_" Ryou demanded, his cheeks burning.

"You didn't expel me from your home and you left this door unlocked. It seemed rather an invitation," the shadow replied with a calm voice and a licentious grin.

Ryou opened his mouth to protest, but before he could get a single word out, he was being passionately kissed. He made to push the shadow away, but the shadow's other arm wrapped around him and pulled their bodies closer together. The feeling of hot, naked and _wet_ skin against the same was beguiling; Ryou became distracted and failed to deliver the push he'd been intending.

The shadow kept assaulting Ryou's mouth with salacious abandon as he groped Ryou's thighs and rear and rubbed against him. Ryou had wrapped his arms around the shadow's shoulders at some point, pressing their chests together so firmly he could feel the shadow's heartbeat next to his own. Everything was heat, the connection of their bodies, the water and steam surrounding them, the erotic _need_ flooding Ryou's body.

Ryou found himself pushed up against the wall, the tiles against his back cold by comparison to the air in the room, and the shadow's body hot against his front, pinning him there. The shadow caught behind Ryou's knee and lifted his thigh up and to the side, giving him a better angle to grind his forming erection against Ryou's. Ryou moaned into the shadow's mouth and dug his fingers against the soft skin of his back.

He made a little sound of protest when the shadow's lips pulled away from his. Then his breath hitched as the shadow pressed a soft bite to his neck and started kissing a trail down his chest. Ryou made soft little whimpering sounds, his eyes closed and the steam invading his mind to drown his entire consciousness in a blanket of warm pleasure.

The hand that had been holding Ryou's thigh aloft shifted slightly and Ryou cracked his eyes open to look down at the shadow, who had his knees resting on the tile now, one an inch from the foot Ryou still had on the floor. Ryou's fog-filled brain tried to process the change in position for a few moments before the shadow leaned forward and kissed his inner thigh. Ryou gasped and tilted his head back into the wall, his eyes closing again.

The shadow slowly kissed, bit and licked at the soft skin, inching his way up Ryou's thigh as Ryou moaned repeatedly and shook with frustration at the torturously slow progression. The shadow's cheek brushed against the side of Ryou's erection and Ryou keened, pressing his palms flat against the tiles behind him as strands of the shadow's hair fell and pulled across his glans, feeling like threads of fire.

"Aaaahh_huh!_" Ryou wailed and curled his toes when the shadow's tongue swept against his scrotum. Curling his toes turned out to be a mistake. As Ryou's weight shifted onto his single heel, it slipped against the wet floor and suddenly he was plunging downward, shrieking. The shadow moved quickly and managed to catch Ryou before he slammed into the tiled floor, but Ryou's head cracked painfully back against the wall.

Ryou groaned, his eyes pinched shut as he rubbed the back of his head, while the shadow gently eased him down onto his lap for the second time that morning. "Ow..." Ryou whimpered. "The floor is too slippery..."

"You're right," the shadow whispered next to his ear. He leaned forward, which caused his stomach to push up against Ryou's erection, making Ryou moan and wrap his arms around the shadow's shoulders once more. The water shut off a moment later, the sounds from the pipes and the drops hitting the tiles cut short, and the shadow leaned back a little again, wrapping his arm under Ryou's buttocks, pulling him closer and a little higher.

Ryou made a sound somewhere between a moan and a sigh and curled over a little, pressing his face into the shadow's wet hair. A moment later, the shadow's arms tightened and suddenly Ryou was being lifted up. He gasped and pulled his head up, terrified; if the shadow slipped or dropped Ryou on the tiles, it was going to hurt like hell. "What are you _doing?_" he whispered.

"Like you said, the floor's too slippery. Let's go someplace a bit safer," the shadow suggested, getting to his feet, Ryou held tightly against him.

"D-d-don't drop me!"

"Shhhhh," the shadow breathed, next to Ryou's shoulder, and turned towards the door, complete confidence in his movements.

Ryou sighed a breath of relief and closed his eyes when they were on the carpeted floor of the hallway. Danger averted. It was only then that his brain started to make any attempt to process the rest of what was happening. It wasn't processing very well though; as the shadow carried him, Ryou's erection pressed and slid against his _great_ abs, and Ryou's thighs squeezed tighter around the shadow's waist. He whimpered softly as he was carried down the hall.

The shadow rolled them down onto Ryou's bed and the sheets clung to their wet bodies and tangled. An irritated little voice in the back of Ryou's mind bemoaned the state of the bedding. He could hear the Millennium Ring rattling down on the floor next to his bed again, and his brain vaguely compared it to the sound the water had made against the tile. He was pulled out of his idle musings by the shadow's mouth covering his again, tongue invading and twisting with Ryou's.

The kiss was briefer than before and the shadow broke away and crawled backward, toward his previous position relative to Ryou's body before the fall. He gave a lick and not-quite-bite to one of Ryou's nipples on the way down, and received a loud gasp as reward. Moments later, the shadow was blowing gently over Ryou's glans from an inch away, the sensation was equal parts blissful and frustrating as Ryou's body screamed for so much more.

Ryou's head tilted back and he uttered a loud sound, not quite a scream, not quite a moan, as the shadow licked the underside of his erection and then closed his lips around the head. Ryou was panting and moaning and he thought he might have even been shouting actual words but he couldn't quite catch any of them, as though he were speaking a foreign language that he didn't know.

All at once the shadow's movement arrested completely. Ryou let out a plaintive little wail as the shadow drew back. Something indiscernible caught Ryou's attention though, and he cracked his eyes open to look at the shadow. The shadow's head was still tilted downwards and Ryou couldn't see his expression, but the lines of his shoulders were strained and he might even have been trembling very slightly. Cold from the water still clinging to them?

"No... not _now_..." the shadow whispered, and it sounded like it came through gritted teeth.

"W-what are you doing?" Ryou mumbled through heavy panting, frustrated with the delay. He pushed himself up against his arms, staring down at the shadow who was definitely trembling now.

"Nng- _Huh?_"

Ryou felt the ripple, the heka sliding over the shadow's form for just a moment and then the person crouched between Ryou's legs gave a start and sat up suddenly, staring at Ryou with wide, confused eyes. Ryou's stomach dropped through the floor as he stared back at the real Malik Ishtar.

"B-Ba- n- Ryou...?" Malik whispered. The shock on his face was just starting to give way to something else when Ryou shoved Malik so hard that he tipped backwards off the bed and onto the floor.

Ryou jumped off the bed and ran past him, back to the bathroom. This time he locked the door.

Ryou turned on the shower again and stood under it before the water had reached an equilibrium. He stared at the tiles for a few seconds, one hand held over his mouth- to stop him from screaming, he realized. Shame, humiliation, guilt were surging up inside of him, and along with all of them the most terrible _frustration_.

Ryou grabbed the shampoo bottle from in front of him suddenly and threw it across the room, letting out a furious scream, before turning back to the wall and leaning his forehead against it, putting his hand back over his mouth as he whimpered shamefully. It was only a few seconds before his neglected arousal started to scream louder than his mortification at the position he'd just been found in.

He dropped the hand over his mouth to his erection and stroked himself to a quick, unsatisfying release, just wanting to get it _over with_. He pressed his other arm against the wall just above his forehead, supporting himself against it as he shook and kept whimpering. Could anything have been more _humiliating_ than this? What must Malik _think?_

Ryou closed his eyes and sniffled a little as the falling water carried away the evidence, before shaking himself and standing up straight. He grabbed the washcloth and soap and set to work quickly scouring himself until his skin started to turn a little bit pink in places. Then he dropped the cloth on the floor, it needed to be laundered now too, and shut off the water. Ryou stood there shivering for a few minutes, though he wasn't cold, the heat of the steam around him was keeping his body at a very comfortable temperature even now that the water had been turned off.

Finally, Ryou walked over to the towel rack. He pulled down his towel and scrubbed it over his face before ducking down to dry from his feet upwards and finally wrapping the towel snugly around his body. He let out a long sigh, squaring himself, and then opened the door.

Malik was standing against the opposite wall, fully clothed now and clutching the Millennium Ring -which had calmed down- in front of his chest as he stared at Ryou with an absolutely stricken expression. "... I am so sorry," he whispered.

Ryou stared at him for several seconds, trying to process what on Earth Malik had to be sorry about. Realization slowly dawned that Malik naturally must have assumed the worst of his shadow. Ryou turned and stomped back into his bedroom. Of course, Malik thought that he was _so_ weak. That _anybody_ could take advantage of poor, little _Ryou!_ Ryou fumed silently as he pulled open his dresser and yanked clothes out of it, not even looking at what he was selecting.

"R-Ryou..." Malik's voice whispered from the doorway.

"Are you still _here?_" Ryou demanded, slamming his shirt drawer shut and leaning against it, not looking at Malik.

"I- I'm sorry," Malik whispered again and Ryou could hear him setting the Millennium Ring down on a wooden surface, the desk, before there were retreating footsteps and finally the front door opened and closed.

Ryou trembled, staring at the front of his dresser as minutes passed. His towel was starting to loosen and slip over his hips, and the need to catch it finally broke Ryou out of his trance. He slowly dressed himself, staring vacantly ahead as he did so, and then stood still for a few more minutes before turning towards his desk.

The Millennium Ring was laying still on the corner of it, the Thief's fury apparently abated. Ryou walked over and looked down at it, chewing on his lip. The cord was broken on one side. Ryou knew he had more braided leather cord in his footlocker of craft supplies and so he focused his attention on finding it and tried to tune out the other thoughts vying for his attention.

...

...

A/N: The thing with the frozen rice in the first paragraph seems insignificant from a Western perspective and makes one say 'why did you feel this was worthy of mentioning?' but rice is not only the staple grain for Japan, it also holds a huge amount of cultural significance. One of the Japanese emperor's big roles is as the demi-god-person who makes the rice grow (and he still keeps his little rice field to this day) and the kami who presides over wealth is the one associated with rice (Inari). Rice is the most formalized part of a meal, while the rest of it is kind of 'whatever works,' rice has specific traditions and a marked elegance to it- rice is traditionally served by the household matriarch, which may be Mom or Grandma, depending on whether Grandma and Grandpa have declared themselves retired. So, all this explanation boils down to- when Ryou's like 'fuck it, eat your frozen rice,' this is rather crude.

So... there, have some shower-sex. Or, interrupted-and-relocated-from-the-shower-sex. And then cock-blocked by Malik. Er... Anyway. I have at least three more scenes planned out in my head, based around various reactions/conversations, which I'll probably try to get all out in the next chapter. Aaaand... then I don't really know how long I plan to take it from there. Probably some kind of vague resolve, I don't want to turn this into a long series- I have too many of those yelling at me right now, two new universes have started assaulting my brain and I want to be able to give them my attention after I finish Final Eclipse, which has... two more chapters coming- I hope. The new universes that have crawled into my brain and taken up residence both promise a high ratio of sex scenes, so don't worry my pretties, after this mini-series is gone, there will still be smut for you.

Anyway, y'know what you should do now? You should **review**!


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